Week 9 Chapter 6 and 14

             Brown (2012) discussed in chapter 6 clients with special needs.  Often times when people hear special needs they think of people with disabilities, which have major classifications such as, mobility, hearing, vision, developmental disorders (mental retardation, autism, epilepsy, Down syndrome), seizure disorders, psychiatric disorders, and cognition (learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder) (Brown, p. 118, 2012).  I think that many people with disabilities are often labeled and that then has a stigma attached to it and sets those individuals apart from the rest of the population.  I think that it is also disheartening that people need to be labeled that need special accommodations just so they are afforded accommodations and the accommodations are available.  Brown (2012) discusses the term rehabilitation and vocational rehabilitation.  The rehabilitation aspect is the process where people with disabilities are prepared for work and life in general, and gradually overcoming many kinds of problems including physical disability, mental illness, alcoholism, drug addiction, delinquency, and other chronic difficulties or impairments.  I think that this aspect of the rehabilitation and preparation aspect of the career counseling aspect is important.  It is important because individuals with disabilities need to learn about how their lives in the workforce are going to be affected and how other people may perceive them.  The rehabilitation may involve services like education, improvement of physical functioning through therapy, enhancing psychological adjustment, increasing social adaptation, improving vocational capabilities, and identifying recreational activities (Brown, p. 119, 2012).  I think that the preparation aspect of the career counseling of individuals with disabilities is very important because they may have been born with the disability or may have recently become disabled and are not aware or accustom to the way that people in society or the workforce will react to them with a disability and how they will be able to function in the workplace.

             Brown (2012) discussed in chapter 14 about career counselors in private practice.  Career counselors as noted in Brown (2012) who choose private practice do so for a variety of reasons, including the opportunity to manage their own careers and increase their earnings (Brown, p. 313, 2012).  There are several qualifications for private practice, however then can provide guidance to many populations of people and even in a private practice the counselors still are required to abide by the code of ethics.  The rest of the chapter presented in Brown (2012) goes through the different aspects it requires to establish a private practice and by no means is it an easy process in my opinion.

Reference

Brown, D. (2012). Career information, career counseling, and career development (10^th ed). New York : Pearson Education, Inc.